h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Zarq,

Don't worry about the "you're not logged on" messages and the slow response. Everybody is getting them at present. There is some sort of global problem with h2g2 which no doubt the techy wizards will sort out soon.

Thanks Gnomon!

I try to do other things while waiting for a response. Today, I made rather a nice meal, while waiting for responses.

I think some of my problems are not h2g2 related, though. Getting multiple copies of e-mails and the v-e-r-y s-l-o-w running, particularly when receiving. Roll on the day when I get my new computer !

Hows things?

Things is grand!

I'm just back from a week's restful holiday with my daughters in our mobile home in County Wexford. My wife came down for the weekends. We did children-oriented things such as going to the beach, the circus and the new Scooby Doo movie (on the one rainy day).

Things is fairly grand here as well.

We've not been on holiday so far, although my little 'un has seen Scooby Doo with his summer school. Tomorrow, I think he's going to 'The Crocodile Hunter/s'. Mid next week, however we're going on an ancient technologies camping holiday for children - the source of a couple of my recent entries. He had grest fun last year. flint knapping was his favourite, although I think he just enjoyed 'banging the rocks together'.

At present, I'm preparing lunch for him before going to work - flour tortillas with a tuna, freshly cooked sweetcorn and slided tomato filling. I make lovely lunches, he eats just one of three, generally. OK, so today, I'm going to make him two!

Have you written an entry on flint knapping yet? I'm reading a book on pre-Celtic Ireland at the moment, and flints feature very prominently in it.

No, not yet. I may well do so after we come back from the camp (unless I find that someone else has already done so). The surprise for me was to find that they used antlers to do the fine work, and how hard they were (the antlers).

When we did it as a group, we all sat in a circle round a great big heavy polythene sheet, which caught all the chippings and we were strictly forbidden to go unshod. It was great fun. I managed a rudimentary arrow head!

Were you thinking of doing one?

No. I was thinking about pre-Celtic Ireland about a week ago and realising how little I knew about it. Then in a bookshop I saw a book called "Ireland Before the Celts". I just had to buy it. But it is not great. It seems to assume that I already know a fair bit, whereas I like books that assume that I know nothing. I was hoping for some enlightenment on the subject of flints.

I've discovered that there is the remains of a pre-Celtic court tomb less than two miles from where I live. I must take the children up to see it some day this week.

I don't think I've ever thought about Ireland before the Celts! I do,however remember reading that they were pretty widespread, and France seems to ring a bell. I think I've forgotten most of what I knew.

I'm really looking forward to our holiday. It's been so busy at work recently, that it's been difficult to take time off. I start a new member of staff the day I get back and I'm in the middle of recruiting another, with a closing date of three days after I get back.

The court tomb sounds interesting. Why's it called that?

How old are your children? Mine will be seven in early September.

My daughters are 11 and nearly 8. You can see them by clicking on the Coelacanth link on my space under "pictures of the summer party".

Court tombs consisted of a room with walls made of upright stones. There was I presume a roof on the room. There was a narrow entrance to the room, then in front of the opening a wide space known as the court with stones on two sides. There was a cairn (hill of stones and earth) over the whole thing. I don't know yet whether the court had a roof on it or whether it was open to the sky. They faced either east or west, I can't remember which. It is assumed that the room was for burial while the court in front was for rituals, but they may have been more temples than tombs. Nobody really knows. The passage tombs (A647912) were a later development of these.

We sent to Brittany a couple of years ago with my mum and dad and I can remember a really lovely tomb that is rather as your court tomb sounds, although it was called something else. It had a enormous flat circular stone as a roof, with earth piled on top and against the sides, which were made of smallish stones, I think. It had a particular alignment with a standing stone in line with the entrance and an standing stone on top.

I seem to remember carvings inside it. It was in the neighbourhood of Carnac, and well worth a visit on its own.

I'll go and have a look at the Coelacanth link. Mine is a little fair thing with blue eyes, very slight and very perceptive.

sent=went. Just shows what effect trying to type and play catch with a ball has.